Poly Worth 465 / Night?

[ddbowdoin]

I am starting planning for my honeymoon in July 2012... thinking 12 nights, spread out at a few resorts so we can get a few tastes of different resorts.

Last year we stayed at the Beach Club, first time staying on property for myself, whereas my fiance has never stayed off. She has stayed primarily at the BC and Boardwalk.

Simple question, is the Poly worth the hefty price ticket of 465 a night?

WOW

 

[goofysgurl]

Stay at the Poly - it is IMHO the best deluxe at WDW - and I can't remember the last time I actually paid rack rate for a WDW resort. There are always discounts and you can always add a discount if one becomes avail.

 

[CaptainShortty]

I say go to the Wilderness Lodge instead!!! :wave:

I concur. I'm more of a WL fan anyway and it's much cheaper.

 

[Yodadudeman]

Polynesian is a nice resort, but for 465 a night the streets better be paved in gold. That is WAY too much for a hotel for a night. You can sometimes get a deal with Poly that drops the price below 400 to around 350ish. I doubt they do that during the busy seasons of the summer though. Try a different deluxe resort like Wilderness Lodge. That one is a nice resort and is a little softer on your wallet.

 

[Monorail Lime]

If I pay such an extraordinary amount of money I expect first-class hotel service, first-class housekeeping, first-class rooms etc. I mean honestly you pay as much money (or even more) for the room as you pay at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC, the Adlon in Berlin, the Ritz in London, The Breakers at Boca Raton etc. In these hotels the management would consider it a major flaw if you would find any tiny stain in your room.

Spot on. Stay at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando or the Waldorf Astoria Orlando if you really feel the need to drop $400/night. The service at either is worlds better than anything offered by Disney.

 

[Susan Savia]

No, I would not spend $465 for one night at Disney World or anyplace else for that matter. For one thing, we're only in the room to sleep for a few hours. Now if we hit a lottery - maybe.

 

[Pete C]

Spot on. Stay at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando or the Waldorf Astoria Orlando if you really feel the need to drop $400/night. The service at either is worlds better than anything offered by Disney.

On that note, the Waldorf Astoria was just ranked #12 in the 2011 "Top Large City Hotels in US/Canada" list in Travel + Leisure magazine. It was the only Orlando hotel on the list.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2011/hotels/large-city-us-canada/283

BTW, you can get rooms there for under $200 a night. They even have their own free buses that run every hour to every Disney park and Downtown Disney. The on-site restaurants 'Bull & Bear Steakhouse' at Waldorf and 'La Luce' at the adjoining Hilton are getting rave reviews from local critics and on Yelp.

 

[slappy magoo]

yes, those are the full price racks. Since we're going 10+ nights we're going to swing AP's and try and head back later in the year and likely stay off property to save some bread. I may just book and then wait for a 25% discount or something... fingers crossed. Normally I just go and crash, but since we're extending the trip and its our honeymoon we'll have enough nights in the park so take it easy and enjoy dinner at Ohana and watch the fireworks on the beach. Normally I am 110% speed in the parks

Unless you were planning to do a lot of offsite touring, getting APs for a 12-night stay will probably be a good investment anyway.

If you're not 100% sure you'll be going back within a year, you could always just buy one annual pass, so you can get any available discount on the room rate (plus the Dining Discount plan available to Passholders and Florida Residents).

The other person can get a ticket for the length of the stay (or a few days less if you plan to go to Universal or Sea World or just take a few days off), and then you can always upgrade it to an annual pass while you're there, as long as there's at least one day left on the ticket.

The money you save on the room and the dining will more than make up for the additional cost of an annual pass, even if you don't go back. Especially if you're planning on staying at the Poly, where the passholder discount can easily be more than $100 off a night.

 

[bmarkelon]

I will have an experienced answer in a few weeks. We will be staying there for 3 nights of our trip next month. With our AP discounts we are paying just about 350 a night for a room with the theme park room.
I just booked a garden view room for my dad for the same time with his AP discount for 287 a night. So the above poster mentioning high 200s is accurate.

But again, I'll be sure to report back after our trip!

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

No, I would not spend $465 for one night at Disney World or anyplace else for that matter. For one thing, we're only in the room to sleep for a few hours. Now if we hit a lottery - maybe.

Well that depends actually more on the kind of Disney vacation you prefer.
We stayed at WDW for 11 days last time and the next stay will take perhaps even 2 weeks. If you stay for that long, you also use the amenities of your resort, e.g. we like to do a morning trip at the MK and head back to our hotel around high noon to stay at the pool for 2-3 hours and then go back to the parks.

 

[wendysue]

One word....NO

 

[DizneyPryncess]

I stayed at the Poly for my honeymoon & thought it was worth it, but would not have paid $465 a night for it. I don't recall what we paid, it was 3 years ago, but it wasn't that high. With a discount getting that price somewhat lower, I think it's worth it especially for a special occasion. But in the rare circumstance that there is no discount, and that's the going rate, I would say no.

 

[bluejasmine]

We absolutely adore the Poly BUT to be honest I have always used a PIN whether it was one attached to my name or a GP PIN. We stay Poly CL and I paid less than $300 a night with the PIN for 40% off room only then I added the tickets and dining plan.

Check online and see if there are any codes or call in and ask if there is any PINS attached to you or your spouses name..Good Luck!

 

[YankeeMouse]

We have a pin code/annual passholder rate for $231/nt, standard view at end of September. I'm holding onto that like grim death! The reservationist seemed surprised when he looked up our dates and said, wow, this is a really good rate. I would think a regular AP rate without the pin might be $250+, and in that case, it is worth it. Rack rate? Not.

 

[Polyman]

Great atmosphere but not even worth the price of a value room. Walls are like paper. You can hear everything your neighbors say and do. That means they can hear you and your honeymoon "activities". :goodnevil

 

[sweetpee_1993]

On that note, the Waldorf Astoria was just ranked #12 in the 2011 "Top Large City Hotels in US/Canada" list in Travel + Leisure magazine. It was the only Orlando hotel on the list.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2011/hotels/large-city-us-canada/283

BTW, you can get rooms there for under $200 a night. They even have their own free buses that run every hour to every Disney park and Downtown Disney. The on-site restaurants 'Bull & Bear Steakhouse' at Waldorf and 'La Luce' at the adjoining Hilton are getting rave reviews from local critics and on Yelp.

I just took a quick look at the Waldorf for the first leg of our September trip this year. Advance payment rate is the cheapest at $178. That's pretty dang impressive.

 

[Uncle Lupe]

I would stay elsewhere on property and save a little cash. It is your special celebration so splurge some. They all look the same in the dark. :animwink:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I would stay elsewhere on property and save a little cash. It is your special celebration so splurge some. They all look the same in the dark. :animwink:

:ROFLOL::ROFLOL:

Yes, but what if you're afraid of the dark??? :lol:

 

[bluejasmine]

By the way I know last yr they were refurbing some of the rooms at the Poly while we were there in Sept. Furniture restoration company was carrying furniture out and they were painting and pulling up carpet, this was in the Hawaii LH where I noticed it but I heard they were doing it slowly in all the buildings.

I say keep trying for that PIN code or GP code, you can book now and add it to your reservation at any time before you pay it off. If for some reason you cant get either than change it to a cheaper deluxe like WL or BC or maybe even a mod like CBR or CSR..

 

[dreamfinder]

I personally don't think that much for a standard hotel room is worth that. Suites perhaps, but not a room. And even though it is a Deluxe resort on property with a great experience, as others have pointed out, it is lacking some.

Beyond that, take a good look at your finances.
There are two ways to look at bookings. If it is a must have resort, then definitely book ahead as they may not offer discounts for that room type or even resort. But you need to be comfortable paying whatever price you book at. Rack, AAA, whatever. This is crucial if you are dead set on having a certain room type at a certain resort.
The other option is to take your chances. Book what you can afford now, and then switch if a better deal comes out. Since it is your honeymoon, you would want to have something guaranteed now that you would enjoy, and then switch to something else if a great deal shows up. The monorail loop resorts are always more expensive, and tend to have lesser discounts than the others.

 

[bayoubelle]

We were disappointed in the Poly several years ago but decided to give it another chance two years ago-still disappointed. Someone who had stayed there previously left dirty underwear in the drawers. Housekeeping obviously was not thorough. The rooms were shabby. The staff there was the least enthusiastic of any resort we've stayed in since 1981. Taken altogether, the Poly is not worth $200 much less worth over $400.
There are some really nice resorts-the Grand Floridian, the Boardwalk, even the Swan and Dolphin. We had a super nice stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in April-it's a bit off the beaten track though.